MUMBAI, Jan. 30 -- Observing that measures taken by civic authorities have failed to effectively curb air pollution across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the Bombay High Court on Thursday constituted a high-powered committee to monitor compliance with its directions on air quality control. The committee will comprise a former Supreme Court judge and a former chief justice of a high court, and will be assisted by a technical expert. It will be empowered to issue directions or recommendations to civic bodies to ensure implementation of the court's orders, a division bench of chief justice Shree Chandrashekhar and justice Gautam Ankhad said. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation strongly opposed granting the committee the power to issue directions, arguing that it would encroach upon the statutory domain of civic authorities. The bench was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated in 2023. P4...